Argecanna
Formula Swiss has supported ARGE CANNA, an independent Austrian nonprofit dedicated to medical cannabis, since 2018.
- Full name
- Arbeitsgemeinschaft Cannabis
- Type
- Nonprofit patient association
- Based in
- Austria
- Founded
- 2014
- Known for
- Europe's first quality seal for cannabinoid products (the AC-Tropfen, 2016)
- Our relationship
- Supporter since 2018
ARGE CANNA is an Austrian nonprofit, an association run by and for people living with serious illness who use cannabis as medicine. Its work focuses on raising awareness of what cannabis can offer as a therapy, widening health insurance coverage for cannabinoid medicines, and bringing down the price of cannabis products for the people who rely on them.
The association advises and supports patients directly, represents their interests in public and political debate, develops research projects, and gathers the scientific data needed to make the case for better access.
Independent quality testing
In 2016, ARGE CANNA introduced the AC-Tropfen, the first independent quality seal for cannabinoid products in Europe. Through routine laboratory analysis, the association tests CBD oils and other cannabis products against European food quality limits and publishes its findings, giving patients a reliable reference in a market where the label does not always match what is inside the bottle. For a producer like us, that kind of independent scrutiny is exactly the direction the industry should be moving in.
The legal situation in Austria
In Austria, cannabis falls under the Narcotic Substances Act, and its status as a controlled substance follows the United Nations conventions on narcotic drugs. Acquiring, possessing, producing, importing, exporting, or handing cannabis to someone else is a criminal offence. Consumption on its own is not meant to be punished, but in practice it usually is, because it almost always involves possession.
The only exception for producing medical cannabis is the Agency for Health and Food Safety, known as AGES, which is owned by the Austrian state. Since the law was amended in 2008, AGES has been allowed to grow medical cannabis and supply it to authorised buyers, usually pharmaceutical companies. In practice, this gives the state a monopoly on the production of medical cannabis.
Our support
We have supported ARGE CANNA financially since 2018. It helps the association continue its work for patients, and it keeps us close to how medical cannabis standards and sensible policy are developing in Austria and beyond.
Learn more about ARGE CANNA and its work for patients.